Kenji leaned in a bit further so that he was inches from her face. “Wanna bet?”
Kat suddenly realized that his face was only inches from hers. She could feel his breath against her face. She licked her lips. Then watched as his gaze dropped to her mouth. Her breathing became labored. She could see the heat in his eyes, he want to kiss her. And as much as Kat wanted him to do just that, she knew he wouldn't.
He never did anything on impulse, with him everything had to be well planned right down to the last detail. No Kenji, did not do spontaneous, or fun she hadn't heard him laugh
since they were children, he probably didn't even remember how. And that was one of the reason she couldn't marry him.
She wanted a man that was spontaneous, fun and passionate. It didn't matter how much she cared for him she couldn't marry him not if he didn't love her. If she thought for one moment that he could love her she wouldn't hesitate to walk down the aisle to commit herself to him for rest of her life.
Kat would give him as many babies as he asked of her. If he was in with love her.
But that wasn't the case no this was an obligation not a desired choice.
Kenji had watched as she licked her lips, it took every bit of control he had not to lean over and kiss her senseless. What would she do if he were to kiss her right here? His gazed lowered to her breasts as her breathing changed becoming labored. He couldn't look away as he took in the up and down motion of her chest.
How he was tempted to reach out and fill his palms with her full breasts. He closed his hands in to fists at his side, so he wouldn't be tempted to do just that. He returned his gaze to her lips.
She may not be excited about marrying him, but he was looking forward to it. He'd dreamed of that day since hearing of the arrangement. They may not be in love but they would make this marriage work.
Daichi cleared his throat to get the attention of them both. “If the two of you are finish yelling at each other, I can finish explaining.”
Kenji was the first to take his seat. Kat slowly and reluctantly took her seat. Daichi looked at each of them before continuing. “The two of you are going to have to learn to get along, especially in public and around non-family members.”
Kat tried to appeal to her Uncle's sensible side, “Uncle isn't there another way to fulfill my duty that does not involve being tied to him for the rest of my life.”
Daichi looked at Kat with eyes filled with love, “No I'm afraid there isn't, you see The Fujimoto's and The Oshima's merged their two companies after you were born with the promise that one day an heir produced from your union would inherit the entire empire.” Daichi stopped, seeing that Kat looked a bit confused.
Katsumi frowned as she asked, “Wait! You mentioned the name Oshima before, I know Kenji is Fujimoto, but who is Oshima it can't be me, since my name is Maruyama.”
Daichi glanced at Amaya who'd been sitting quietly by, observing every word being said. He took a deep breath continuing, “Your father was Satashi Oshima, and after your mother was murdered we decided it would be best to change your name and have me raise you as my niece.” Kat was shocked to find out the name she'd been using wasn't even her real name.
This was turning out to be a day from hell.
What next? Could anything else possibly happen today. Her luck seemed to go from bad to worst. She wished this day would just end already. She closed her eyes, threw her head back and took a deep cleansing breath.
“Okay so why did my father agree to this arrangement? And by arrangement I mean all of it, changing my name, letting you raise me, forcing me to marry Kenji, having to produce an heir, this is the twenty first century, I should be allowed to choose my own husband.”
She stood from the sofa and walked over to the window overlooking the garden. Leaning against the frame she crossed her arms over her chest before asking with a frown etched on her face, “I still don't quite understand how marrying him and having his baby is going to solve anything.” She said as she nodded her head in Kenji's direction.
She continued to gaze at the window wishing she was any place but here. How could her entire life be a lie? She wanted to run far away. But she couldn't.
No she was taught to face life head on. She didn't even know her real name.
Kenji was beginning to get a little tired of her sounding like marrying him was a fate worse than death. Why did she think being his wife would be so bad? He planned to be a good husband and terrific father. Besides it's not like she's all that and a bag of chip's herself and he intended to tell her just that.
As soon as they were alone.
He didn't want Daichi or Amaya to hear what he had to say little, Miss. Whiny.
Before Daichi could respond to what Kat said Kenji stood. “Daichi do you and Amaya mind if I spoke to Kat alone? I'll try to explain the situation to her in a way she may understand better.”
Daichi and Amaya reluctantly agreed to his request.
“Thank you,” he said to them. To Katsumi he replied, “Shall we go for walk in the
garden.”
Kat straighten away from the window frame, dropping her arms to her side. She looked at Kenji, through narrowed eyes. “Fine I'll go but, you better not try bossing me around like you’re already my husband or I'm leaving you out there.”
Kenji smiled slightly, “When have I ever bossed you around?” Kat opened her mouth to answer, but before she could say anything he put his hand at her elbow and began leading her from the room. “Never mind we'll talk about it when we reach the garden.”
Daichi and Amaya watched as Kenji lead Kat through the door and out of the room. Amaya turned to Daichi, “Do you think he'll get through to her?”
He shook his head as he replied. “Let's hope so, but she has a lot of her father's
stubbornness in her, so it won't be an easy task for him.”
Chapter Five
Katsumi and Kenji walked side by side as they entered the garden. The sun had set a while ago, leaving the stone path illuminated by the stone lanterns that were position throughout the garden. They strolled along quietly, lost in their own thoughts. When they reached the gazebo they decided to stop and sit so that they could talk about the situation.
Kenji had to find a way to make her see that this arrangement could workout for everyone involved. Their families were depending on them.
“Do you remember when you come to live here with Uncle Daichi? You were sad and afraid and you thought that you would hate being here.” He looked at Kat to see if she showed any signs of remembering the day he was talking about.
She knew the day he mentioned, it was the saddest day of her life. Most children couldn't remember things from when they were that young, but she did because she lived that nightmare over and over in her dreams.
Kat turned away from Kenji before responding to what he'd said, “Why would you bring that up, it has nothing to do with what's going on now.”
He knew that she didn't like thinking about that time of her life, but he'd brought it up for reason. “I mentioned it because even though you knew staying her was for your own good you didn't want to stay, but soon you realized that staying with Uncle Daichi wasn't as bad as you thought it would be.”
He watched as she slowly turned her head towards him.
Kat knew what he was getting at, but just because she grew to love this place does not mean that she'll grew to love being married to him. She didn't want to be in marriage with a man who did not love her.
“Kenji be honest do you really want to marry a woman you don't love?” He walked over and took a seat next to her looking into her beautiful golden the eyes. How could he explain to her that to him, marrying her was not a problem because he cared for her.
He had for years. That was the reason he had left all those years ago. He couldn't tell her how he felt about her. Not yet it was too soon for her to hear the truth about his feelings. She wouldn't believe him. So he would tell her what she did need to hear.
; That, like it or not they would be married because it was expected of them.
“This isn't about us Kat it's about the future of our families, our parents put their trust in us, hoping that we would live up to our obligation, which I don't have a problem with. I mean keeping up my end of arrangement that is.”
Kenji took a deep breath then tried to explain the situation. “Look both our families could lose everything they've worked for all their lives. With your families’ technology and my families shipping it was the perfect merger. But even though they held controlling interest in their perceptive companies the shareholder’s had a say in the merger negotiations.
So it was decided that when it was time for the original families to retire and no other member of the families was eligible to take charge. They would forfeit control of the company. They would have no say in the day-to-day dealings.”
Katsumi looked at Kenji, confused. “I still don't get the need for us to marry each other.”
Kenji replied. “The need will become clear once you know everything. It was discovered later that the shareholders which mandated this forfeit clause had deep ties to Yakuza. Dangerous and deadly.”
He paused for a moment before continuing with the story. “The arrangement of marriage between the two of us, in order to unite our families was not public knowledge. The details were known to only close family members and the legal representatives of each family.”
He glanced at Kat to see if she was being to understand.
“Somehow this information became known to the wrong people. It was perceived as act to beat the contract clause, which it was not. We were promised to one another even before this clause was mandated, because it was for told by the elders of my family, and your mother. This was her dying wish for her vision to be fulfilled.”
There was more she needed to know but not tonight this wasn't the right time to tell her why her mother was killed or who was responsible for her murder. He would tell her one day. He just hoped that she would forgive him for keeping the truth from her. That was a chance he would have to take. Once she became his, she would be his forever. She didn't know it now but she would.
It was their destiny to be together. He had dreamed of marrying her since he'd been told about the arrangement when he was a teenager.
Katsumi closed her eyes and rubbed her temples using both her index fingers. Kenji waited until she looked at him before asking, “Is the thought of becoming my wife so unappealing to you. I know I'm not perfect but it wouldn't be that bad, would it?”
Kenji watched as she closed her eyes again and took a deep breath, she wanted to tell him that she would love to be his wife, if that's what he really wanted. That if he could love her as much as she loved him.
But she couldn't say that. She would not make a fool of herself again. She had once, when she was a teenager, she had told him that she had a crush on him and asked if she could be his girlfriend, and look how that had turned out.
He had gone running back to Japan. No she would tell him what she did want in a husband. She opened her eyes to look at the man she loved so much.
“No one is perfect Kenji, but I always thought that I would meet the man of my dreams, he would wine and dine me. You know romance me a bit we'd fall in love then get married, after a few years have a baby or two, and live happily ever after, raising our family.”
Kat stood and walked over to lean her hands on the rail of the gazebo. She gazed out over her Uncle's beautiful garden, she'd always dreamed of getting married here in his garden paradise.
To Kenji. But she'd dreamed he would be in love with her when they got married.
Could she do this? Could she marry him even if he didn't love her the way she loved him? Could she take his body without his heart? Some of him was better than none of him she supposed. Maybe he would grow to love her someday. But could he be passionate to a woman he didn't love.
Kenji stared at Kat's back and waited as she seemed to struggle with her feelings. He knew this was hard for her. She wanted to be romanced, wined and dined. She wanted to be treated like the princess she was. That was something she didn't think he could do, because he'd been trained at a young age to control himself, his feelings, his temper, his emotion and his passion.
She thought that because he was always in control that he couldn't be a passionate husband or lover. He supposed he'd just have to prove to her that he could be the man she'd dreamed of.
But she would have to agree to become his wife. An idea formed in his head.
“Hime Kat.” He said and watched as she turned to face him. Kenji rose and walked over to stand in front of her. “If you promise to marry me, I'll do all the things you just mentioned, wine and dine you, romance you.”
She raised her eyes to his and saw that he was serious. If he'd only said that he could love her if not now then one day. Lifting one of her hands to caress his cheek, Kat smiled at him. “Kenji that is sweet of you but it's more than wining and dining. And without passion there is no romance.”
He reached up and covered her hand with one of his, as he caressed her cheek with the other, just as she did to his.
“And you don't think that I would be a passionate husband, is that what you think Kat? That I can't be passionate with you?”
He asked as he looked into her golden eyes that glistened with unshed tears. Kenji's slowly let his hand slide from her cheek, to her chin and down her slender neck. His gaze lowered to her mouth as she nibbled on her bottom lip.
Did he dare, show her with just a kiss that he could be passionate? What would she do if he did decide to unleash all the desire and passion he felt for her. Would it frighten her into not marrying him? Maybe if he unleashed just a bit of it.
He watched as Kat released her bottom lip, letting a sigh slip parted them. Kenji smoothly glided his hand around to the nape of her neck he gently pulled her forward as he lowered his head to cover her mouth with his own.
The moment their lips touched, it sparked a fire deep within his soul. He couldn't explain this feeling. It was like a fire had been lit in his gut. Kenji deepened the kiss as she put her free arm around his back and pressed her body closer to his.
She kissed him back with the same desire he was feeling. Their tongues dueled with one another, moments before he took the kiss to a whole nether level. Kenji lightly sucked her tongue deeper into his mouth sending tingling sensations all along her spine.
She felt warm moisture the pool in the sensitive area between her thighs, soaking her
panties with her desire filled excitement.
Kat had learned to kiss by reading about it in romance novels. But never in her wildest dream did she think that kissing would be this tantalizing to the senses. This man was sending her to edge of the highest cliff, threatening to send her careening over in a free fall of Ecstasy. And that was just his kisses she could not imagine what would happen if he made love to her.
Which is exactly what she was minutes away from begging him to do? To strip her butt naked, lay her down on floor of this gazebo and have his wicked way with her.
Kat knew that's what he wanted because she could feel his rock hard erection pressed
firmly against her body. Kenji knew that if he didn't stop soon he might not be able to. Kenji's control was holding on by a very thin thread. He was fading fast. The way Kat was responding
to his kisses had him burning from the inside out.
The innocent passion in her kisses only turned him on more. He would be the one to introduce her to the many pleasures of making love. He planned to satisfy every glorious inch of her sexy body.
The heat of her breasts pressed firmly against his chest seeped through the front of his shirt. Her body was a perfect fit to his. Kenji taught that was proof enough that they belong together.
Kat may not think so right now but she would. He would do everything in his power make her see that.
Katsumi felt her knees go weak and buckle beneath her, but Kenji was there hold
ing her up with one arm around her waist. Her insides were screaming for more. She moaned deep within her throat.
But then Kenji released her way to soon she wasn't ready for him to let her go.
Never in her wildest imagination would she think that he could kiss her like that. Maybe this marriage wouldn't be so bad after all. Kat leaned her forehead against his chest so that she could catch her breath. Both of them were breathing in short, quick breaths. Kenji was the first to recover he licked his lips enjoying the taste of her there.
“How was that for starters? Was that passionate enough for you Hime?” He asked in a
tone that was hard with need.
Kat couldn't speak so she just nodded without lifting her head from where it rested on his chest.
The Samurai's Kunoichi wife (The men of Five Nations International) Page 4
